The four-faced clock on top of the information booth is perhaps the most recognizable icon of Grand Central. Each of the four clock faces are made from opal. Both Sotheby's and Christie's have estimated the value to be between US $10 million and US $20 million..

Astronomical Ceiling details..
The original ceiling, painted in 1912 by French artist Paul César Helleu. It was renovated in the late 1930s ..

Details..

The large American flag was hung in Grand Central Terminal a few days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center..

Vanderbilt Hall..

Vanderbilt Hall..

Ramp to Lower Concourse..

Ramp to Lower Concourse..

Group of statues and clock on the facade.Bad Image of one significant sculpture..
I regret whatever prevented me from crossing the road and take the photo. But maybe this calls for another trip..
Outside the station, the clock in front of the Grand Central facade is the world's largest example of Tiffany glass and is surrounded by sculptures carved by the John Donnelly Company of Minerva, Hermes and Mercury.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Original Structure..
[City Hall, later named Federal Hall]
The original structure at this site was built in 1700 to house the New York City Hall. When the Constitution was ratified in 1788, New York remained the national capital. Pierre L'Enfant was commissioned to remodel City Hall for the new Federal Hall. The first Congress met in the new Federal Hall, and wrote the Bill of Rights. George Washington was inaugurated here as President on April 30, 1789. In 1790, the United States capital was moved to Philadelphia and what had been Federal Hall once again housed the New York City government until 1812, when the building was razed.

Existing structure at the same site..
[NY Custom Hall, now renamed Federal Hall National Memorial]
Federal Hall National Memorial, [the bldg. that now exists] was built in 1842 as the New York Customs House. It is on the site of the old Federal Hall. It later served as a sub-Treasury building and is now operated by the National Park Service as a museum commemorating the historic events that happened there.

Two prominent American ideals are reflected in the building's architecture..

The Doric columns of the facade, designed by Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis, resemble those of the Parthenon and serve as a tribute to Greek democracy;

The domed ceiling inside [image below], designed by John Frazee, echoes the Pantheon and the economic might of the Romans.

Rotunda and Main Hall..

Main Hall.. Neoclassical columns around rotunda..

Statue of George Washington in front of Federal Hall National Memorial. This marks the approximate site where George Washington was inaugurated as the First President of the United States of America, in the former structure. Crowds watched from below as Washington stood on a balcony to repeat the solemn oath of office.
Sculptor: John Quincy Adams Ward
Bronze statue / 1882..

Inscribed are the words..On this site in the Federal Hall April 30 1789, George Washington took the oath as the First President of The United States of America..

The Solemn Oath.. April 30, 1789..I solemly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
So help me God..

The Bill of Rights..
While the new Constitution established government by the people, many feared it did not do enough to protect individual liberty. Congress adopted the Bill of Rights in Federal Hall on Sept. 25, 1789. This permanently established the freedoms that the Stamp Act Congress had requested from the same spot 24 years earlier.

The Vault [United States Sub-Treasury]..
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln converted the building from a US Custom House into a branch of the United States Independent Treasury System. The NY Sub-Treasury issued and received bonds, gold-certificates and the first "greenbacks". This small vault and identical one on the other side of the Rotunda, were used to store large sums of money. When nbusiness boomed in the late 1870's, the Treasury Department built strong vaults in the basement to hold gold and silver coins worth hundreds and millions of dollars..

The New York Stock Exchange Building, is just across from the Federal Hall National Memorial..

Integrity protecting the Workers of Man..
The figural sculpture on the NYSE bldg. facade, completed 1903, were also made by sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward. Actually, the models for the marble pediment sculptures were made by him, but the pediment was carved by Piccirilli Brothers. It is titled “Integrity Protecting the Works of Man". These classical sculptures figuratively represent the sources of American prosperity, depicting Integrity in the center, Agriculture and Mining to her left, Science, Industry, and Invention to her right, and the waves on either edge as the ocean-to-ocean influence of the Exchange.

Friday, July 15, 2011

30 Rockefeller Center, arguably the centerpiece of the 14-building complex of Rockefeller Center. It is a 70-story, 850-ft.-high slab skyscraper, fully clad in gray Indiana limestone, as are the similarly styled though smaller 13 other buildings in the original complex..

The plaque reads..
Designated Landmark: New York City
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is one of the foremost architectural projects undertaken in America in terms of scope, urban planning and integration of architecture, art and landscape. It was developed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The Center's original architects were Reinhard & Hofmeister; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux; and Corbett, Harrison & MacMurry. The original complex of fourteen buildings were constructed between 1931 and 1939, and provided jobs for thousands of labourers in the building industries throughout the depression.
New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation, 1989..

1250 Avenue of the Americas, Rockefeller Center..
Mosaic Mural "Intelligence Awakening Mankind"..
by Barry Faulkner
The central figure is 'Thought'. The other two figures are messengers. The male figure represents writing, and the female represents the spoken word. All the figures are bound together by a scarf. Red and gold radio waves surround them and disseminate their message.

1270 Avenue of the Americas, Rockefeller Center..
"Morning Present and Evening"..
By Robert Garrison..

[??] - Any information is welcome..

Some artworks that I missed to photograph [too tired!! Now I regret!]..
- “Spirits of Song, Drama and Dance” - by Hildreth Meiere [50th Street facade of the Radio City Music Hall Bldg.]..
- "News" - by Isamu Noguchi [Associated press Bldg.]
- “Youth Leading Industry” - by Attilia Piccirilli [glass block bas-relief at Fifth Avenue entrance to the north wing of the International Bldg.]
- “The Italian Immigrant” and “Italia” - by Giacomo Manzu [bronze sculpture at the entrance to the Palazzo d'Italia in the south wing of the International Building at 626 Fifth Avenue]

Rockerfeller Center is a 14-bldgs complex, which includes..
The GE (aka RCA) Building (1933) (69 floors), 1270 Avenue of the Americas (1931), GE Building (1933), International Building (1935), Time-Life Building (1937), Associated Press Building (1938), Simon & Schuster Building (1939), Eastern Airlines Building (1940), & Manufacturers Hanover Building (1952), Radio City hall..

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About Me

All the images in this blog and my other blogs, have been produced by me. See and enjoy the images. But please do not use or reproduce any of these images without written permission.
Contact at: jyoti[at]lensimpressions[dot]net